According to the American Bankers Association's quarterly report on consumer delinquency trends, late payments on home-equity loans and home-equity lines of credit have dipped below 15-year averages for the first time since the Great Recession.

The month of March produced a broad-based seasonal boost that propelled the Index of Banking Activity to its highest level since June, 2015. The IBA's 59.1 reading in March was buoyed by strong improvements in metrics that track loan applications and approvals and — for the first time in many months — a noticeable rise in the component that monitors banks' staffing levels. In all, 12 of the 16 components of the IBA improved on levels reported in the February survey, with most of the remainder steady to slightly lower. (Commercial loan rejections were the one exception: the decline in this component was driven mainly by an increase in rejections in the Midwest, where application growth was strongest.) In addition, only one component score — a 49.3 reading in the deposit-pricing indicator — failed to surpass the 50-point level indicative of expansionary activity in the industry. Improvements in overall business activity were evident across all geographic regions. Respondents in the Midwest reported the most dramatic gains in lending-related activities, while bankers in the South region were the most bullish on the question of hiring. In addition, survey participants in both the Midwest and South regions reported significant improvements in their markets' respective real estate and local business conditions.

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Banks have long struggled with how to better serve the underbanked and unbanked. Here's a roundup of some strategies that are working and some fresh ideas that are in the offing.

Lending Club, Prosper Marketplace and Funding Circle are locking arms to create a new trade group that will represent the marketplace lending industry in Washington.

First Interstate BancSystem in Billings, Mont., announced its third deal in two years as it inched closer to $10 billion of assets.

The majority of first-time homebuyers plan to skip the starter-home step and move straight into the home that would meet their long-term needs, according to the Homebuyer Insights Report from Bank of America.

As the pressure builds for mortgage lenders to offer digital — specifically mobile — tools, innovators in the space are encouraging the industry to keep the customer as the focus in designing new offerings.

The FTC has closed the book on a fraudulent debt collection scheme that processed payments for payday loan debts they didn’t owe.

The deal to buy TradeKing would allow the online-only bank to offer wealth-building products to its roughly 1.1 million depositors. The additional low-cost deposits could also help fund loan growth as it looks to expand beyond auto lending and into mortgages and credit cards.

Most consumers haven't developed a "muscle memory" for using mobile wallets, says Julie Pukas, head of U.S. bankcard and merchant services at TD Bank. It will simply take more time — and, more importantly, widespread merchant acceptance — before consumers feel comfortable paying with their phones.

Officials in Pittsylvania County, Va. are seeking proposals from firms to provide collections and billing services for the county's medical transport system.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is about to issue new rules that will define the future of small dollar and non-prime lending in our nation.

If you're ever wondered about the scope of risks facing your financial institution from "insiders" potentially involved in shell company dealings, the Panama Papers provide some insight.

Bancorp of New Jersey in Fort Lee has hired a former state regulator as its new chief executive.

In a more competitive-than-ever industry, sales activity is an important part of bankers' jobs, but it is not the only part.

The U.S. shift to EMV — once considered as viable as the U.S. shift to the metric system — is well underway. Here are some of the latest signs of progress, as well as some of the biggest pain points.

PayPal Holdings Inc. is scrapping plans to build an operations center in Charlotte, North Carolina, saying that recent legislation passed in the state undercuts the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Wealth management units have been a surefire source of fees for banks over the last few years, as low rates dragged down spread income. But a policy change will likely be a crucial test to the business model.

The agency plans to reduce the period of heightened regulatory scrutiny to which de novo institutions are subjected to three years, down from the seven-year period established in the wake of the financial crisis.

For the benefit of consumers who rely on nonprime credit and the lenders that provide it, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules offering clarity and consumer protections can't come soon enough.